This week I have been experimenting with an acceptance testing technique I call semi-automatic testing. Although automated junit testing is essential for unit testing, customers need to see more than a green light for acceptance tests. For customers to accept it, they need to use it.
For semi-automatic testing, I create test cases using MS-Word and embed hyperlinks in the document to exercise JSPs (utilizing dbtags) running in JBoss as a web app (e.g., mytesthelper.war). These JSPs alter database state to setup the test data as necessary. Testers exercise the target application during the tests, but they also use the embedded hyperlinks to setup external data at key steps in the test. The tester will have a paper copy of the test for note taking and recording pass/fail status, but the Word document will also be on the screen so that the tester can click on the hyperlinks.
Here is a trivial example representing a Word document. The underlines are the hyperlinks to be invoked by the tester using ctrl-click.
Test Case: Make a payment
1. Intialize database
2. Make an account
3. Go to url http://someplace/mywebapp
4. Login using "user" and "password". Verify that ...
5. Click View Balance. Verify that the balance is 100.00
6. Make a payment
7. Click View Balance, Verify that the balance is 0.00
We develop the tests in conjunction with the customers when we can. At other times, we take our best guess, develop the tests without the customer, and then use it as a starting point for discussion when the customer returns. We may use an Instructional Designer with QC experience to help develop the tests and make them into a more polished training tool. We intend to use these test cases for customer testing/training, requirements clarification, new hire training, and for regression testing. One of the benefits of using Word is that a tester/trainee can easily print out all the test cases to review them as a whole. The current application is small so I don't know if it will scale up to a larger project. For now, however, it is simple and good enough.
10:20:04 PM 
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